With the UK seeing the arrival of a White Galaxy Note today.

Older owners of the Samsung Galaxy Note have been waiting for news about its future upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich, but with the debacle that has ensued for many devices it looks like Samsung are playing it safe with thsi new update and not giving ICS a chance to cause havoc on more happy new customers.

Firmware update not ICS:

While I can see the disappointment in peoples faces already, all is not lost with his update as it does appear to offer some significant improvements even if it is only a bit of a make-up job, so here is what will be included with the update:

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• Set brightness levels for browser to save some juice
• Improved lockscreen with arrows around the padlock, encouraging you to swipe to unlock.
• Preinstalled torch widget that supports three different brightness levels
• Keyboard now has five rows with the number row being always visible
• New “one hand” mode that shrinks the layout, making it easier to type with one hand only.
• Calendar app now supports different date formats

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It appears that the update is only for devices that are unlocked and it will be rolling out right about now, with carriers bringing the update to owners at a later date. This will be to ensure that they dont p*** off more people with an unstable update that can and does occur…wise move I say.

Are you wishing that this was more of an Ice Cream Sandwich flavour than a tarted up gingerbread?

Samsung have announced a few hours before the CES event in Las Vegas that it will be bringing the giant smartphone the Samsung Galaxy Note to the US.

The stylus enhanced 5.3 inch super sized smartphone will be brought to the US and the device will be available on AT&T running on their 4G network.

Pricing of the US version of the Galaxy Note?

No details have yet emerged on the actual pricing of the Samsung Galaxy Note in the US, so we will have to keep our eyes peeled on this as and when news emerges.

Galaxy Note has nice features:

If size is your thing, you will be pleasantly happy with this phone as its size means it offers features that other phones would find hard to deliver.

One being the use of a small stylus termed an “S Pen”, which is housed in the device, and can be used to write on the huge screen almost the same as writing on paper, this is obviously useful for note taking.

In a nice little extra feature, the notes you take can be shared across multiple devices.

Galaxy Note huge screen:

With a huge screen, it has huge appeal to those who are less worried about bulges in their pants, and more concerned over screen real estate so they can play games or watch video on their smartphones while out and about, which this phones screen offers in abundance with a huge 5.3 inch in width.

Based on the Android operating system, the phone has been missing from US consumers clutches ever since it was launched back in October, so this news will make for lots of smiles for those wondering whether to wait in hope or simply go and pick up an alternative smartphone.

So are you looking forward to the Galaxy Note finally coming to the US or has other smartphones got your attention now you have had to wait so long?

We have already done a comprehensive review of the Samsung Galaxy note and found that the half tab, half smartphone was a big boy indeed, and perhaps not one for certain ladies, but we liked it by and large…pun of course intended.

So it is intriguing to see that despite a no-show in the US currently, the Galaxy Note smartphone, that masquerades as a tablet when it needs to, has actually shipped a whopping 1 million units globally, which seems pretty incredible considering the amount of competition it faces in the overall smartphone market.

Samsung Galaxy Note at CES?

It is thought that the Consumer Electronics Show in January could be the perfect US showcase for the mobile device to start wooing US buyers, and for the device to then start appearing on AT&T shortly after, with an expected support for LTE to be offered.

With a 5.3 inch screen and 1280 x 800 pixel resolution display, we think it will appeal to quite a few Americans who still swear that big is most definitely best!

What do you think of the device? Are you looking forward to the new release of the Samsung Galaxy Note in the US?

Here is a half decent Samsung promo video for the Galaxy Note, when compared to the hilarious videos they released for the Samsung S2 which have now been pulled:

Please let us know your thoughts on the Galaxy Note in the comments, are you a Note owner already who likes or loathes the device? Tell all.

When we reviewed the Samsung Galaxy Note a few months ago, we gave no indication of expected sales figures.

With Samsung becoming ever more dominant in the mobile device arena, with a successful slew of Smartphone releases over the last few years, it is interesting to “note” what predictions they have for the domestic sales figures of the large Galaxy Note Smartphone/Tablet hybrid.

Two Million expected sales:

With no time frame offered for the sales forecast, Samsung have positioned the Galaxy Note to sit in between the Samsung S2 and Galaxy Tab as a kind of hybrid of the two, offering a huge screen and plenty of power.

Galaxy Note smartphone:

The Note is not for people who do not eat their porridge. With a 5.3 inch screen, the device only just fits into some pockets, such is its desire to compete with the tablet market, and holding one is not as easy as it perhaps could be had the smartphone decided it was going to stop growing around the late 4 inch mark.

JK Shin, head of the mobile communications business said proudly about the Galaxy Note:

“Galaxy Note is a revolutionary product opening a new category in the market.”

It is evident that Samsung enjoy the R&D process.

Galaxy Nexus just released:

No slouches in product development, Samsung have also released, to much fan fair, their new smartphone in the guise of the Galaxy Nexus which we reviewed, a powerful beast that runs rings around the Samsung S2 and comes with Google’s Ice Cream Sandwich operating system. We hear of no current sales forecasts for this device but will keep you posted as and when we hear more.

So, what do you think of Samsung’s product range, do you like the diversity or prefer the one size fits all approach of Apple, which appears less confusing though perhaps at the expense of rapid evolution?

o2 have just announced that they will be the first UK carrier to offer the Galaxy Note on a contract by the end of November, meaning that the giant smartphone.tablet hybrid will become an option for more people rather than having to stump up a large amount of cash for a SIM-free deal from the likes of Play, Amazon, or Clove.

£250 starting price?

It seems that o2 are offering the device on a monthly contract with an initial outlay of £250, this seems to expensive when you look at the Amazon Kindle Fire that has just been released and retails at the equivalent of around £130. Having said that the device does look pretty sweet and is better specified than the Amazon Kindle Fire.

Monthly fees and sweeteners:

According to Cnet, monthly fees will start from around £13.50 to £72 with early adopters getting £100 of free access to Samsung’s Hub which offers access to movies and music.

Galaxy Note Specs:

Arriving with a boastful 5.3 inch screen, and the first “smartphone” to go over 5 inches in screen size, the Galaxy note comes with the following goodies behind its exterior.

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• Dual-core 1.4GHz ARM Cortex-A9
• 5.3 Inch Super AMOLED Display 1280×800, 285 PPI
• 8 Megapixel camera
• 1 GB Ram
• 16 GB Storage
• WiFi
• Bluetooth 3
• 1080p playback and recording
• USB 2.0
• Android 2.3
• HSPA+/4G LTE

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With a similar pedigree to the Samsung S2 before it, the Galaxy Note is a beast and in benchmark tests by AnTuTu, they gave it a massive score of 6394.2.
The Samsung Galaxy S2 scored 5334.3, and the Samsung Galaxy Tab scored 4782.6. So this is no slouch of a device.

Read our full review so the Samsung Galaxy Note here and for US Samsung lovers we will keep you posted on the arrival of the Samsung Galaxy Note for you guys also.

The new release from Samsung is an intriguing offering that is perhaps a category defining new mobile device, here is why:

Samsung Galaxy Note Review:

With Samsung emerging as an industry leading manufacturer of mobile devices, albeit with a string of law suits related to the technology that is contained within them. It has to be handed to the South Korean electronics powerhouse that they are still pushing the boundaries with devices they release competing hard in their own existing categories defined by the likes of Apple’s iPhone and iPad in the case of the Samsung S2 and Galaxy tablet or in the case of the new Samsung Galaxy Note, perhaps even defining a new category.

The new smartphone/tablet is touting itself as a mid-sized tablet with smartphone capabilities and is pitched as a pen and paper replacement. Coming with a pressure sensitive “S-Pen” attachment the device allows users to write in a more traditional manner, perhaps an improvement on their “Swype” technology which has totally replaced my method of writing texts, articles, etc on my Samsung S2. The new “S-pen” is able to write, draw and edit/annotate a multitude of applications including photos. So could this kind of device prove to be a kind of “Wacom tablet” replacement for designers if Adobe were ever to enter the app market properly and release a full blown Photoshop application and creative suite? While it may be some time that demand and technology are the right fit for software houses such as Adobe to enter fully just yet I personally expect tablets to become the go to choice for creatives in the not too distant future, fully replacing a traditional PC for functionality, portability and power. The new Samsung Galaxy Note is a device which shows what can be done with some creative ideas and a little forethought and usability.

While the stylus pen option has been done before (as a costly option) for the HTC flyer, this is the first time that a device has been given a pen as a default option.

Galaxy Note built on Android:

With the Note being built on the somewhat controversial Android O/S, it’s screen dimension is set at 5.3in, this is smaller than they Flyer, and weighs in at 178g. A larger version of this model will be arriving later, simply called the Galaxy tab 7.7, with you guessed it, a 7.7 inch screen.

The note will feature a 8mp camera on the back and a 2mp camera on the front, with LTE and HSPA+ flavours for 3G connectivity.

Head of account for Samsung Europe, Andrew Coughlin says this about the stylus pen offering:

“Any screen can be captured and annotated with detailed commentary in your own handwriting,”

Perfect tablet/smartphone for students?

Now I am not sure how large the writers market is but the student market must be pretty huge so perhaps this has its place as a paper and pen replacement for students as well as general writers and people who like to jot stuff down (myself included).

With the release of the developers SDK for third party development opportunity via the pen and stylus, it will surely only be a matter of time before various cool and hopefully useful applications enter the market to take advantage of a fairly unique method of interacting with your tablet.

Super AMOLED Screen:

The larger version of the Galaxy note we mentioned above, coming in with a 7.7 inch screen will feature the Super AMOLED screen that is present in the Samsung S2 smartphone. This allows for wide viewing angles, they will both feature a 1.4Ghz dual core processor, so will have 400Mhz more processing power than the iPad 2.

It will be pitched as a tablet and smartphone replacement by Samsung, though I am unsure as it is perhaps a bit too large for pockets and a bit too small for serious functionality, with the 7.7 inch being perfect for screen size for functionlaity but definitely too big for the pocket.

Bada O/S – Samsung’s iOS and Android O/S competitor:

With the South Korean government keen to foster a working partnership with LG and Samsung to develop a mobile device operating system independent of the likes of Google’s Android O/S which has come into serious question legally in recent months, Samsung have also released their new Wave 3 handset running their own Bada operating system. Samsung also made a point of stating that they intend the O/S to be a fully blown competitor to smartphone and mobile specific operating systems such as Apples iOS, Android and the Blackberry O/S.

Are Tablet/Smartphone hybrids the future?

So what are your thoughts on the space saving mini tablets and the function packing smartphones that a hybrid such as the Samsung Note offers, is it a little bit to betwixt and between to be really called either or does it sit in a niche that allows a range of users something functional and neat?